FOOTBALL: McClelland back with a bang

The talented centre-back, who suffered a terrible double leg-break last season, produced a man of the match display in their win over Larne, last Friday night.

For Owens he can’t believe how quickly the defender has returned to action after having a second operation on his broken leg only last month.

“Bryan suffered a double leg break last year and, to be honest, for him to be back playing now is remarkable,” stated the United boss.

“With no pre-season under his belt he came back to play one game in December at Larne and while he was a bit rusty he did well, before he had his second operation.

“He did a few training sessions leading up to last week’s Larne game but he was up against Tommy Stewart and Davy McDaid, two top draw senior strikers, and he never gave them a kick.

“He was superb and has been a breath of fresh air in the dressing room.

“His attitude has been amazing and everyone at the club is amazed at how quickly he has come back and the level of his performances have been brilliant.

“Coming back so soon, with such little preparation in terms of training, he really is a brave boy.

“I’m a Manchester United fan and when you see people talking about how difficult it was for Luke Shaw to come back from a leg break, I’m amazed how far Bryan has come on.

“At training and in the game on Friday night he was flying into tackles and hasn’t been holding back.

“For someone who was out for 14 months and coming back into a league higher, without a pre-season behind him, to play so well against a top side such as Larne, was brilliant for both him and the dressing room.”